• India
  • May 17

Daily Briefing & Quiz / May 17, 2019

Ind-Ra warns of dumping of Chinese goods

The rise in US-China trade tensions could lead to dumping of Chinese goods and weaker flow of foreign investment from the US to emerging markets, including India, Ind-Ra said. The India arm of global rating agency Fitch said that in the past, China has showcased such tendency and dumped its products at predatory rates in many markets, including India. “Ind-Ra believes the rise in trade tensions between the US and China could lead the latter to guide its exports towards emerging markets... This could potentially disrupt the demand-supply dynamics in the Indian domestic markets, especially for products such as electronic goods, iron and steel and organic chemicals,” it said. Chinese exports accounted for 18 per cent of the total US imports in 2018, representing 2.34 per cent of the US GDP.

Mastermind behind Louvre pyramid dies

I.M. Pei, the pre-eminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died. He was 102. The Chinese-born Pei was the mastermind behind the bold Louvre pyramid in Paris, the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong and Athens’ Museum of Modern Art, works seen as embracing modernity tempered by a grounding in history. In 1988, the then French president, Francois Mitterrand, inducted Pei as a Chevalier in the Legion d’Honneur, later raising him to the rank of Officier when phase two of the glass-and-stainless steel Grand Louvre pyramid was completed in 1993. US president George Bush awarded Pei the Medal of Freedom that same year, when he was also elected an Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

UGC proposes inter-varsity degrees

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is proposing a National Academic Credit Bank in higher education and if the proposal comes through, inter-university degrees can be a reality soon. UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan said the proposal was similar to that existing in some foreign universities. The initiative proposed in the place of the current system of CBCS (credit-based choice system) would allow students to join one university, pursue the course in another university and earn a degree from a different university. This would give a lot of flexibility to students. The UGC has appointed a committee, which has met a couple of times to study the proposal. The UGC would like to roll it out on a pilot basis in any one of the universities by 2021.

Trump unveils radical immigration plan

US President Donald Trump proposed overhauling the immigration system and make it merit-based from which foreigners, including hundreds and thousands of Indian professionals and skilled workers, waiting to get green cards or permanent legal residency stand to benefit. The major immigration policy, however, is unlikely to get congressional nod soon, given the bitter political divide between the Democrats - who have a majority in the House of Representatives - and the Republicans who control the Senate. Notably, America’s last immigration overhaul was 54 years ago. Trump said he is proposing a merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense.

Turkey loses GSP benefits as India waits

US President Donald Trump has terminated the designation of Turkey as a beneficiary nation under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), while the suspense on India continued. GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries. The termination of Turkey became effective on May 17. On March 4, Trump announced that the US intends to terminate India’s designation as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP programme. The 60-day notice period ended on May 3. There was no word either from the White House or the US Trade Representative (USTR) on the fate of India’s status as a beneficiary nation.

Taiwan lawmakers endorse gay marriage

Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage on May 17, as thousands of demonstrators outside parliament cheered and waved rainbow flags, despite deep divisions over marriage equality. Lawmakers of the majority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) backed the Bill, which passed 66 to 27, although the measure could complicate President Tsai Ing-wen’s bid to win a second term in elections next year. The Bill, which offers same-sex couples similar legal protections for marriage as heterosexuals, takes effect on May 24 after Tsai signs it into law. The vote followed a years-long tussle over marriage equality that culminated in a 2017 declaration by the democratic island’s constitutional court giving same-sex couples the right to marry, and setting a deadline of May 24 for legislation.

Labour leader declares Brexit talks dead

The UK’s tumultuous divorce from the EU was again in disarray on May 17 as the opposition Labour Party declared last-ditch cross-party talks were dead in the twilight of Prime Minister Theresa May’s premiership. Nearly three years after the UK voted in a referendum to leave the EU, it is still unclear how, when or if it will ever leave. The current deadline to leave is October 31. Brexit talks between May’s Conservatives and Labour have ended without an agreement hours after May agreed on May 16 to set out a timetable for her departure in early June. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to May, informing her that talks had “gone as far as they can”. Corbyn said May’s government had become unstable and its authority had been eroded undermining confidence in the government’s ability to deliver any compromise deal.

FFC chief calls for land, labour reforms

Expressing concern over muted private investments, Fifteenth Finance Commission chairman N.K. Singh said that in order to push economic growth, the new government should take on the challenge of introducing reforms in areas such as land and labour. He also noted that fiscal rectitude is an important intergradient in sustaining long-term economic growth and is the core of long-term macroeconomic stability. Macroeconomic stability is one of the things that will guide India’s high growth trajectory, he said. On the reforms front, Singh said, “One single thing that we could not reform was factors of production - labour, land and capital. We were unable to achieve success on reforming factors of production.”

Notes